Is God A Boy’s Name?

Here at Trinity Episcopal Church in Warsaw, NY, we are a small liberal boat on the large conservative sea that is Wyoming County. Still, for as many people of the 41,000 in the county the last census counted who are politically, socially, or theologically conservative… there are others.

But that has nothing to do with how you think of God. And if how you think of God doesn’t bring you joy and peace… maybe it’s time to start thinking again.

At Trinity we are democrat and republican and none of the above. We are men, we are women, we are adult, we are child, we are straight, we are gay, we are married, single, divorced, partnered, and widowed. There is much we don’t have in common. And there is one thing that we do have in common:

We want to practice loving our neighbors as ourselves, even though we know we’ll fail. We want to deepen our understanding of God’s hope for us, even though it can be confusing. We want to strengthen ourselves for the insanity of our lives, and even be able to greet another day with actual joy.

We have something – a seed of hope and beauty and love – and we want to share it with anyone who comes to us.

But Church Is Scary. Weird. Strange. Not For Me.

We know. Ancient rituals can be… daunting. Where do you go? What do you do? When do you stand or sit or… wait, you have to kneel? And sing in public?

All this, amongst total strangers?

If you’re brave enough to walk in the sanctuary doors at 10:30am on a Sunday Morning, we’ll guide you through it, and by the time you are invited to coffee hour, you’ll already know people’s names. And if you’re a normal person without the bravery of Godric Gryffindor, try this instead:

Vertical Cafe in Warsaw (on W. Buffalo St, just a few doors down from Trinity Episcopal Church). The second Wednesday of the month, 2pm. A bible study.

WAIT, WHAT? A BIBLE STUDY? BUT THAT’S SO MUCH WORSE!

Maybe, but maybe not. It’s small, so you get to know people easier. It’s safe – everyone is in the same boat, everyone has questions, everyone has time and space to ask. And in the midst of all that, we’ll have some time to dig into a useful bit of the bible and discuss it. You can stick your toes in to test the water without worrying about fumbling through ancient liturgy.

But do you have weird rules that will trip me up?

Ancient rituals aside (which are sometimes weird, but usually not trippy), our rules are pretty straightforward, and not particularly invasive. For instance, here are some common rules we don’t have.

You can dress however you want in church.

You can raise your kids inside or outside the church, as you choose.

If you decide not to marry your partner, you can still hang out with us and we’ll love you.

If you’re a human being and called by God, we’ll consider ordaining you. (You don’t have to be a straight, white man for it to happen.)

The most seemingly-inflexible rule we do have is this: You want a vote, you gotta be a member.(See? Inflexible, but maybe not so unreasonable.) Everything else is surprisingly flexible. And if you have questions about anything, you can ask. You can always ask. (We like questions, and encourage them at every turn.)

Are you going to pressure me to join your church?

Nope.

We’re here to share what we’ve found with whomever comes into our orbit. We’ll offer you a piece of everything we have, and you can take whatever you want, or simply walk away if you’ve already got everything you need.

And if you’re curious for more details about the bible study, check out its dedicated page here.